The Road to The Myrtle Beach Half-Marathon

I'm always telling people to set new goals for themselves, and to attempt things outside of their comfort zone.  So in the interest of taking my own advice and not being a hypocrite, I signed up for the Myrtle Beach Half-Marathon a week ago.

This will be my second half-marathon ever, I ran one here in Charlotte close to three years ago.  My goal was just to finish, and I accomplished that (barely).

I signed up for the Dowd YMCA Half-Marathon on about three days' worth of planning (I was "in-shape" but cannot say that my training was with an endurance race specifically in-mind).  This time I am giving myself plenty of lead time for the February race, having just started a training program from Runners World, and also just invested in a decent pair of stability running shoes, thanks to tips from one of the elite runners here in Charlotte I met recently.

As for diet - I've had to jettison my Intermittent Fasting and low carb strategies to keep my energy levels up for two-a-day workouts.  I'm not necessarily training twice per day, some days are AM runs or AM spin bike with fitness classes taught in the evening.  I haven't resorted to breads and starches, just upped my frequencies of complex carbs like oatmeal, brown rice, and black beans, with an occasional Powerbar or similar quick energy source when necessary.

I'm also hoping to shed about ten pounds between now and February, so I've (sadly) had to limit my weight training to once per week at-most.

I'll check in after a few weeks with progress, but hopefully this motivates others to step up and try something outside of your comfort zone.  More times than not, you'll surprise yourself with what you are capable of.